


Ruthless in Purpose (Insidious in Method)

by OperationBlanketFort



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: No Beta We Die Like Rory, Prison, then come alive again like rory bc this is actually good
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28483377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperationBlanketFort/pseuds/OperationBlanketFort
Summary: It's been a long time since Jack saw the Doctor, but finally he comes for Jack. He comes with a proposal, one that doesn't quite work for anyone involved. Who is he, really, and how is Jack going to get himself out of this mess?
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> oh god i hate having nothing to say in the tags. the no beta tags are a lil nod to my friend C, who is in a fandom with the best no beta tag in existence. hope this lives up to it lol. the title is a slightly adapted orphan black episode title, because frankly they're all beautiful.

It had been a long decade for Jack.

All his years had been long, thinking about it. The loneliness, the death, the boredom, the waiting, the wars, all that took its toll and turned years into millennia. But still, this particular decade lasted forever. The cyber wars were winding down, but not in their favour. He’d watched his friends be turned into cybermen, observed the final generation of human children grow into soldiers, and seen more horrors than any sensible mind would accept. Ko- his Ko- had left him. With noble reasoning, no one could deny that, someone had to deliver people through the boundary, but left him all the same. Even the fight was leaving him. It got so hard carrying on as the number of humans left alive dwindled to nothing. His hope- his one last one, it felt like- was the Doctor. They had the message, those companions seemed trustworthy, they’d do the right thing. 

The ship around him creaked, and his bones joined in as he moved. The ship he’d pulled the Doctor’s friends into was long gone, and he and this new one hadn’t quite come to terms yet. It was fine, it flew and they managed, but there were often issues. Yup, like those sparking cables over there. He’d wrestled the Jeffries relays into submission just three minutes ago, but sure ship, you go ahead and break the life support system, great plan. 

There was another spark as he shoved the two ends of the broken green cable together. He swore as it burned him, but the ventilation whirred back into life. Breathing a sigh of relief- nice that he could still do that- he scanned it to be sure. He still didn’t feel bad for plagiarising a programme from the Doctor’s sonic for his vortex manipulator. The manipulator beeped green, then red. Red meant there was still a fault. But if he hadn’t actually fixed it… what the hell was that noise?

Around him, the noise slowly got louder, wheezing and groaning and wheezing. It sounded so familiar, like an old friend’s voice. The air around him thinned. The sound got louder and more familiar, and then he knew it. Of course.

“I’ve missed that sound.”

The Tardis. The Doctor had the most awkward timing, as always. Jack let out a little laugh and searched desperately for the Tardis. It wasn’t materialising anywhere he could see, but this ship had hundreds of Tardis shaped hidey-holes. Peering down the corridor, he found a flash of that lovely familiar blue.   
“Come on, you can do it!” he ran to the flash. The air was growing staler and staler, soon there wouldn’t be enough to use. Just in time then. The blue rounded itself out, stabilising and strengthening and growing into something wonderfully like home. That glorious thud echoed around Jack’s ship, and the box finally became solid. Jack’s smile grew, though his mouth was already aching. He raised his hand, and knocked on the wood. 

Someone inside dropped something heavy-sounding. Jack laughed again. “Doctor, it’s me!” The speech, despite its tiny length compared to what he wanted to say, forced him into a coughing fit. The air was far too close to running out. “Hey doc, the air’s getting kinda thin here, think you could help me out?” There was a pause, punctuated by his coughing, and then a creak. The blue doors swung open.

He wasted no time in running in. He didn’t even register the doors closing. “You missed me, right?” he called. It was a great line, no point wasting it on people who didn’t know him. “Love the redecoration, by the way!” he wasn’t expecting red to be the Doctor’s colour, but the ship looked great in it. The console- what Jack assumed was the console- had more glass than was probably sensible for a person of the Doctor’s clumsiness, so he stayed far from that. 

“Captain Jack.” Came a male voice from behind him. He turned around.

“Doctor?” 

“Hello again, captain.”

Jack couldn’t stop himself any longer. He ran to the Doctor and picked them up, squeezing them in a hug. The Doctor’s hands scrabbled around his back, searching for purchase. Jack might have heard them say ‘um’, but ignored it. “Look at you,” he said instead, “it’s been so long.” 

“It certainly has been” the Doctor said, and Jack put them down. “Too- too long.” They watched him strangely, those gorgeous brown eyes almost calculating. 

“Love the new look. Very handsome.” Jack winked. They were short, yeah, but so pretty, and the way their black hair flopped in their eyes was adorable. He’d happily eat this one up. “Uh- Your friends said she?” 

“Oh- oh yeah,” They didn’t quite meet Jack’s eyes, and seemed extremely surprised. Jack hoped they weren’t too out of sync. “My last body. This one’s sort of fresh. Um, it’s he now.” 

Jack nodded. “Sorry I missed her. Can’t say I mind though, with you looking like this…” The Doctor rolled his eyes. It was the most Doctor-normal thing he’d done yet. “Can we talk?”

The Doctor smiled. It was beautiful, but why did Jack suddenly feel so cornered? “Of course we can. Shall we go to Dorium’s?” his oddly predatory smile grew and he rose his eyebrows cheekily. It shouldn’t have been so cute, or so unsettling. Jack was distracted though. He’d expected to immediately be drawn into some convoluted adventure, and certainly hadn’t expected the suggestion of a club. Maybe today was the day for some wish fulfilment. 

“You know I’m banned,” Jack laughed. What a night that had been. “But, if you’re looking for a club, I know a great one on Apalapucia. Their temporal twisters are nothing like you’ve ever felt.” Okay, yeah, maybe getting the Doctor drunk was a bit of a stretch. “Or we could find somewhere quiet.” The Doctor looked at him sideways, frowning harder than before.

“You’re banned from Dorium’s?” 

Jack chuckled. “Yeah, you were there. Don’t tell me you forgot!” Jack would definitely never forget. Being banned from clubs was his thing, but he’d had to work hard at that one. The Doctor scowled.

“I’m thousands of years old, Jack,” he snapped, turning to the console. “I can’t always remember everything!” He sighed, more to himself than anything. “Maybe this was a bad idea.” Jack’s stomach dropped. He’d just got the Doctor back.

“No, it wasn’t. Do you know how good it is to see you? I’ve missed you.” He walked over to the Doctor, placing a hand on his shoulder. The last one he’d met hadn’t minded touch all that much. “Thousands of years? You hadn’t hit one thousand last time I saw you.”

“Time passes, Jack. For all of us.” The Doctor said tersely. He pulled a lever and wrenched his shoulder from Jack’s hand. Jack clenched his hand, his heart not aching, screw you. “You might be right though- somewhere quiet.” 

The Tardis whirred around them. Jack, still hurt, stayed quiet and far from the console. He wondered what had happened to the Doctor. They were friends. It might have been thousands of years for the Doctor, but it had been hundreds for Jack, and he’d never treat the Doctor like this. Whatever had happened to the Doctor had to have been terrible. 

“Come on then,” called the Doctor. Guarded, Jack looked up at him. He stood by the door, cocking one eyebrow expectantly. “Let’s talk,” he said, then left. Jack followed, deciding not to feel like a lost puppy. He’d taken them to a park, it seemed. On an earth-adjacent planet, judging by the gravity. The sun was out. The Doctor had already chosen a bench and sat at the very left edge of it. Jack took the right side, making a serious effort not to touch him. “You wanted to talk?”

Jack swallowed. “You dealt with the lone cyberman, yeah? You didn’t give it the Cyberium?” Was Ko’s sacrifice for nothing, he didn’t ask.

“The universe is safe from the cybermen once again.” The Doctor sighed. He sounded so tired. He also, unusually, sounded bored, and bitter. That felt wrong. Then again, apparently he felt wrong to the Doctor. Maybe he’d lost someone.

“And your friends? They got out safe?” 

“Yeah yeah, they’re fine.” He brushed jack off. Hurt once again- but Jack had begun to expect that from the Doctor- Jack looked away. A small child ran past. Jack waved at them, just as the Doctor sighed. “I’m sorry Jack, I’m just tired. Got a lot on my mind.” 

Jack looked back at him. He tried to smile encouragingly, but when those big brown eyes looked back at him, he just felt sad. “You wanna talk about it?” 

“I need a favour, Jack,” the Doctor sighed, “and you’re not going to like it.”

“Alright.” Swallowed Jack. “Hit me.”

“Hit you?” 

“Yeah, you know, tell me. What else would I mean?”

“Well, usually I hear ‘hit me’ in subtext when you’re talking anyway”

“Oh! You know, I‘m gutted to have missed the girl, but I like this you! Puppy has bite!” 

“Puppy?” Spat the Doctor. “Puppy!”

“Yeah, cause of the big pleading eyes thing you’ve got going on here. Also, you’re so adorable, I wanna eat you up.” The Doctor looked even angrier as jack said adorable. 

“I’m not- do you want to help or not?” Jack just looked at him. “Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t snap. It’s just- the Master.”

“The Master? He’s still about?” The Doctor nodded. “Well, point me in his direction and I’ll deal with him,” Jack said seriously. 

“That’s the thing. We’re not killing her- we have to rescue her.” 

Jack sat stunned. He’d justified a lot for the Doctor, but this felt excessive. “What?”

“She’s in prison. I - we, hopefully - have to get her out. It’s not good for her there, I can’t just leave her”

“I don’t understand.” He really didn’t, it boggled his mind that the Doctor felt that way. Get the Master out, what was he thinking?

“It’s not right that she’s in there. They aren’t treating her right.” The Doctor looked up at the sky, his leg bouncing. Jack shook his head.

“well good! She didn’t exactly treat me right!” She’s a terrible person, she deserves to be left to rot.” He was aware he sounded bitter, but didn’t care. He was bitter. Any reason the Master should get good treatment was beyond him. 

“What part of ‘last of our kind’ isn’t clicking, Jack! I have a responsibility.” Snapped the Doctor. Jack could only blink at him. The Doctor did a lot of snapping, apparently. "Besides, there's no atonement." 

"Atonement?" could a monster like that even atone? 

The Doctor sighed. “It’s just prison. She won't learn anything. She gets out now, she stays the same. If I can do something- if I can do it right- she might just get better."

Jack tore his gaze away. Surely the Doctor remembered what the Master had done to him. He couldn't mean that little to the Doctor. "So what, you think she can be good? After- after everything?" 

"Good might be a stretch. Still gotta try." 

No. No, he wouldn't take more of- this thing, whatever it was. He stood up.

"No. I'm sorry Doctor, I can't. Find someone else to try with. I'm not being part of this." The Doctor caught his sleeve. 

"Please." Jack finally met his eyes again. Something burnt in them, something deep and old and hardened. Jack was entranced, but unconvinced. He'd seen those eyes in the mirror for decades now.

"Where is the benefit for me?" he said simply. Normally, he'd be happy for the reward to be friendship, but this was too much. The Doctor's eyes darkened further. Something scary lurked in their depths. Jack had to supress a shiver. 

"I won’t-" started the Doctor. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When they reopened, the darkness had made way for something safer. It still wasn't quite the Doctor that Jack thought he knew. "I won't leave you here, Jack. I can take you anywhere, away from there."

Jack chuckled darkly, darker than he'd usually allow around the Doctor. "Not enough, Doctor. Not for this." his heart breaking again, he wrenched his hand away from the Doctor's. Their sleeves brushed for just a moment. He pretended it was a message, and turned to walk away. He only got three steps, before the Doctor's face appeared in his vision. 

"I'll bring them back."

Jack scoffed, though stayed. 

"Anyone you like. We'll cheat death and time, and you can have someone back. Multiple someone's, if you like," said the Doctor. Jack held eye contact, even as the Doctor's eyes flitted about, searching his face. The madness in them- even Jack hadn't seen anything like it in a while. 

"You really need this, huh," he said, mustering all the kindness he knew. The Doctor nodded. Jack weighed his options, then gave the Doctor another few moments to angst. They might as well both suffer. "Fine," he said after an age and through gritted teeth. 

"Really?"

"Yeah," sighed Jack, "I guess. But," he held up the palms of his hands, "I'm doing it for you, okay? Not for whoever you think I'd want to bring back, and in no way for the Master. For you."

"Thank you Jack, thank you. Um, I want to try and say you won't regret it, but uh..."

"I probably will," grinned Jack. "Eh, I’ll manage. Got practice with regret, me."

The Doctor winked, and a new madness grew in his eyes. At least this one was more manic than scary. "Same," he said, grabbing Jack's hand. "Come on then, we have work to do!" Jack let himself be tugged towards the Tardis. The Doctor was right, there was no way this wouldn't end in regret, but at least he could say that he tried to help the Doctor. He let himself get lost in the rush of an adventure with the Doctor. What could go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

So many things. So many things could go wrong. They were fifteen minutes into their plan, and at Jack's last count there were five things that hadn't gone wrong so far. Oh, nope, four things, he noted, as a slab of concrete fell from the ceiling. Four and a half, maybe, because it hadn't fallen on him or the Doctor. 

In the Doctor's defence, the plan hadn't started any better. Who knew the Judoon had specific training to see through psychic paper anyway? No one could be blamed for that. He could be blamed for getting so lost in the excitement of seeing the Doctor that he forgot their backup cover story, but forgetting to hack the security cameras was entirely the Doctor's fault. They'd probably agree to share custody of the gun mishap later. 

Get her out, the Doctor had said, like it was so simple. Nice and easy. In quickly, out quickly. He should’ve expected otherwise. Still, it had been fun, and now they were so close. He could see her cell.

“Jack, how close?” Called the Doctor from the end of the corridor. He seemed slower than the others. Maybe it was the shorter legs. 

“She’s down here!” Still felt odd to call the Master she. He’d seen how misogynistic the Master could be during the year that never was. Maybe it was just proof that they couldn’t pick and choose regenerations. 

“Hang on then, the key’s in my pocket.” 

"Hang on? If you were faster…" jack said, reaching the door. Some circuitry on the opposite side of the wall sparked. He'd didn’t count it as a thing gone wrong because nothing caught fire. The Doctor glared as he caught up. 

"If I was faster? How about if you-" he was cut off by another shower of sparks. Jack held out his hand, gesturing for the Doctor to throw him the key, to no avail. The Doctor stumbled but continued in his oddly slow run. "Okay," he said when he finally reached Jack. "Here we go." 

The key, thankfully, turned in the lock easily. There was one big thud, then the clinking of small cogs and tiny mechanics. At least that explained the low-tech locks. He looked sideways at the Doctor. 

"You sure about this?" he had to check. There may even be a chance to talk him out of this. Jack felt he owed the Doctor that much. More, actually, but that wasn't the point. 

"Sure." he smiled. It was maniacal, more a baring of teeth than anything remotely encouraging. Jack felt his heart in his throat. Was he really going to let the Doctor do this?

He nearly said no. He nearly stopped their plan entirely and turned in his tracks. It was the Master. He'd been killed by the monster in the cell, killed and tortured and broken so many times. He should've run. 

He couldn't though. He remembered the Doctor's desperate bargaining, the quiet 'still got to try'. He admired him for that. He wasn't quite brave enough to try like that, not anymore. He couldn't take that from the Doctor. Speaking felt like an awful idea, so he nodded once. There. Decision made. 

The Doctor turned back to the door, holding up three fingers. Jack thought that was a bit dramatic and a waste of time, given the louder and louder stomping of Judoon boots. Still though, when the third finger fell, he joined the Doctor in pushing the door open. It did, with an almighty creak. The Doctor gestured towards the cell. Jack swallowed down his fear and stepped in. 

It was dark and cold in the cell. There was a single piece of furniture, a bed like slab of not quite concrete. Jack understood the Doctor a little more. No one should live like this, even the Master. A half dribble of guilt flowed through him at that thought. Martha's family wouldn't feel the same. 

Sitting on the bed thing was a person. The Master. She was blonde, and already clothed in red prison overalls. Or, maybe not already, the Doctor hadn't yet told him how long she'd been here. They were clean, at least. She was sat facing away from them, her head in her hands. It left Jack time to contemplate, but when the Doctor grew bored he cleared his throat. 

Immediately, the Master's head snapped up. She whirled around, something like fear in her eyes. Clearly, she'd modelled this body for deceit. She was very pretty - and yes, he really wanted to cry when he thought that- and so small. Jack's protective instincts swelled. He quashed them immediately with reminders of what she'd put him and the Jones family through. She might want to fool him, but he wouldn't let her. He took another few steps towards her. 

"Jack?" she shouted, the fear turning to confusion. "What-?" 

"He’s here because of me" the Doctor said. The Master jumped. She peered around Jack, her eyebrows raising when she saw the Doctor. 

"Aren’t you dead?" wow, was she northern as well? Why where they always so matchy? Jack didn't like her tone, especially not to the Doctor. 

"Hey," he said sternly. "He’s here to help you, don't speak to him like that. I'm still not sure you deserve it, Master." he had his hand over his gun holster, just in case. The Doctor might want to turn her good, but she sure wasn't there yet. Where she was, was - hang on, confused?

She looked between Jack and the Doctor, eyebrows scrunched together. She almost looked innocent. He wasn't buying it. She mouthed 'Master?' at both of them as her confusion visibly grew. 

"Exactly, Jack. Thank you." he wasn't looking at the Doctor, too focused on the Master, but Jack could almost hear a smile. The next sound he heard though, that really scared him. The clang of a door shutting. 

The Master seemed worried too, not that Jack had time for that. "Doctor!" he shouted, assuming something had happened to him. When he whirled around though, it clearly hadn't. The Doctor stood outside the now closed cell door, calm as a windless day. "Doctor, open the door!" Jack could hear the whirrs and clicks of it locking. 

"Why are you calling him that?" asked the Master tentatively. He wouldn't give her the privilege of seeing his face, but he had to answer the absurd question. 

"Because he is the Doctor!" he said. The Doctor shook his head, almost fondly, but with a hint of something unfamiliar. He waved the key at Jack. He didn't understand. The Master whispered something unintelligible. Jack turned to her.

"He’s lying," she said, "like always."

The Doctor chuckled. Jack didn't understand, no matter how he tried.

"Just open the door we don't have time!" The guards should be here soon, but even as he spoke he could hear them turning away. His heart sank. If the door was closed, chances were they weren't interested anymore. He was stuck in a cell with the Master. "What is going on?" he shouted. 

"Oh, dear Jack, that's not quite the Master" said the Doctor. Was he taunting him? What did he- no. 

"Not quite the Master, what does that mean?" Jack shouted again, turning to the Master then back to the Doctor. He really wished he'd positioned himself better. "Who then?" 

The Master's face changed. She'd just looked confused before, and sad, but rage erupted on her face now. “Master,” growled the- not the Master?-, prowling towards the door, “what have you done?” 

“Oh,” The - not the Doctor? - pouted mockingly. “My dear Doctor, I’ve brought you a present.” 

Jack felt sick. “What is going on?” He asked, because otherwise he may have started jumping to conclusions, and he really didn’t like the most obvious one. The d- the man on the other side of the door grinned madly. 

“Ah Freak, I may have told a tiny little white lie, I’m sorry.” His features smoothed, and his eyes flicked from Jack to the woman. “Well, no, actually, it was a whopping great big lie, and I’m not sorry in the slightest.”

“What lie?” Demanded Jack. The woman pushed her face to the bars of the door.

“Why?” She asked almost-definitely-not-the-Doctor, who giggled. 

“Why else, but to see the look on your face? It’s a cracker, I must say.”

“Can one of you please tell me what is going on!” Jack re-demanded. He still refused to jump towards the conclusion slowly dawning on him. It would be too terrible, too damning to think about. The woman turned to him, twisting her mouth sadly. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." 

"Yes, dear, I'm sure you are. Not quite your catchphrase any more though, is it?" Said yeah-that's-not-the-Doctor. He smiled again, reaching for the window bars. "Will you tell him, or shall I?" 

The woman turned back to the door, leaving jack scowling in frustration. He really couldn't take much more of this. He moved with long steps to the door, pushing his face up to the door like the woman. "I don't care who I hear it from, I just want to know what's going on!"

The woman turned to him, as who-is-he-then chuckled. Jack tried to glare at him, but the woman's eyes caught his attention. They were wide and sad, with almost tears blurring the pretty green of her irises. It wasn't just her eyes- her whole being looked sad, and had a terrible hint of exhaustion. "I'm not the Master, Jack." She said, her voice fading into an almost whisper. "He is." 

Jack's world cracked. He held fast. "No. No, you're trying to manipulate me. He can't be." Jack backed away from the door. 

The woman pursed her lips, while the man's smile grew wider. Jack couldn't think, couldn't bring himself to believe. The more he tried not to though, the more it made sense. If that wasn't the Doctor, he wouldn't remember the night he got banned from Dorium's. It would explain the odd looks, the fire raging behind his eyes, the willingness to let him use his gun.

How hadn't he seen it?

"You. You're the Master?" He pointed. The… the Master cackled. 

"Yes. Yes I am. And I gotta say, it’s been fun, but I really should go…” He backed away a little, but the woman - who then, if not the Master? - grabbed the bars. They fizzed, but she remained steadfast. 

"Master. Why?"

"I told you why," hissed the Master. "But if that's not enough, then... For fun. It has been such a pleasure. And now you're both out of my way! That's going to make my life a lot easier. See you never!" 

The Master winked, clearly aiming it at Jack, and then he was gone. The woman's shoulders sank. She shivered as she turned away from the door. Jack shivered too, but wasn't ready to trust her. 

"So if he's the Master, who are you?" he pretended his voice didn't shake. The woman closed her eyes, exhaustion clearly catching up with her once again. 

"Haven’t you figured that out yet?" she said, then immediately screwed up her face. "Can’t believe I said that. Yuck." 

He paced closer to her, looking carefully. Her prison clothes gave very little away. He had no hope of deciphering the numbers, and there were no personal touches, not even an earring. There wasn't much left to go on, other than her kind of familiar vibe. She could have been human- wait. Human looking, knows the Master, a little familiar- oh. oh no. 

"Doctor?"

"Hello Jack," smiled the Doctor. "Long time no see."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa i hope you like it! it's been so much fun to write. more should be coming soon, i don't know when but this certainly isn't finished yet. comments and kudos valued strongly. have a good day!!! sorry if there are mistakes im in a rush bc there's not long until the episode starts, pls let me know if there are any and ill fix them :)

**Author's Note:**

> yay! I'm actually really proud of this!! It began to come to life back in November, the day after the Jack teaser was released. my sister sent me a very tantalising text thirty seconds before my class started and i cannot thank her enough for that.   
> I think this has 3-4 chapters total, idk quite yet. i wanted this posted before the special so you get the first 2 chapters now and then who knows when the next are coming. aaaa i hope this episode is good. 18 minuites to go! i hope youre all staying safe and keeping warm. i really deeply value any and all kudos and comments, but as always no pressure. this is my longest fic so far though and i would really appreciate feedback. have a great day!


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